ALGAE

The concept of ALGAE  , obstacles in life...
Anger
Lust
Greed
Attachment
Ego

Krishna & Gopis

This can be interpreted as
1. Lord & his devotees
2. One Krishna & Many Gopi's ( Many gopi's could be the many levels of existance, many roles that we play ...)
3. One Krishna is constant and Gopi's are the thoughts ...
4. One Krishna is Sun ( Constant & Illuminous) and Gopi's are the planets around it
5. One creator, many creations

and so on....

Also another interpretation is that the Gopi's understood that God is with me and hence after Raas Leela each found herself to be dancing with Krishna. Krishna appeared as dance partner to each one to let them experience that he is with them .

Krishna as a consultant

Imagine that all that Krishna is saying in Gita is like management consultant talking to a CEO.

He is kinds of helping you see your strengths and weaknesses. Helping you re align to your very purpose. Reminding you that the organisational (read higher) goals is what you need to work for. Facilitating your understanding of investing for long term (read right versus wrong, as right wins in the long run)...and so on.

To understand Krishna's teachings one can view him as a teacher, friend, guide or consultant!

Truth & Lies..and in betweens

Truth is Good & Lies is bad is a universal law.

Then there is white lies ...simple ones like your dress is lovely , the dish is awesome .....no thank you I am full...and the drawing is beautiful...things that are said to please someone or to motivate someone ...or to be polite....and so on.

Various white lies are acceptable in all our lives and teaching the fine differences between same to kids ( or even to adults) can be challenging.

The Mahabharat episode about Ashwathama dying & Yudhistir saying part of the truth loud and clear and rest in a whisper ....was that lies? white lies? truth????

There is a story of a saint who in keeping his vow to speak the truth tells the robber the location of a wealthy man who is then killed & robbed.  Was the truth worth it?

In Gita there is a reference to what is true & what is right. Knowing what is right has a many variables of past or impact on future. But truth is never changing.

One needs to understand that between Dharma's which is the higher principle. As in the case of the saint Truth or Ahimsa? As for Yudhistir, a mixed up truth to Guru versus winning the war to establish Dharma in the world.

Think about it ...

For example ... it is 10 am ...this is true for Singapore time zone but not the rest of the world.
A clock that is not working will still show the correct time 2 times every day....

We all say killing is wrong, and there are many examples like when killing is right : killing a terrorist to save many others, or killing a hijacker for similar reasons.

Awareness & Distraction

Being aware is good, but being distracted is not.

Being aware during a meeting that its running late is good but being distracted by that and loosing focus leads to wasting time & resources.

Similarly being aware of a friend being around while in gym is Ok but having the urge to talk with her or thinking of all the things you need to tell her is being distracted from the present and hence not doing gym properly.

In class being aware of what needs to be done after school is fine, but thinking about it in class is being distracted.

Being aware of your favourite dish being prepared for dinner is pleasant, but being excited too much about it and not being able to focus on home work is distraction.

Being aware and not distracted is a sign of maturity and spiritual growth.

Once we know its becoming a distraction we need to control our minds/thoughts.

Protecting from Terrorism

Countries spend a humungous amount in protecting themselves from terrorist attack. The underlying truth is that the terrorist needs to be successful once and the defence and intelligence need to succeed 100%.

Imagine each person doing similar efforts to protect oneself from loosing self control or negative thoughts. The world would be soooo different.

Many Lives Many Masters

The title is that of a book and could also hold true for a pet cat!

Just read the book. Its about messages from the spirit world that a psychiatrist receives via & while treating a patient.  The messages are universal truths and for me were familiar as I have read them in the Gita. There is a mention about the soul and body, about how a soul needs to accomplish its task, about each one having some divinity that needs to be used for a larger cause. There is even a reference to the divinity inside to be like a diamond with many facets and each of us is different because of the dust covering many facets !

It is indeed an interesting read because it shows how the universal truths are sent to individuals ready to receive it!

Balancing

For a Maths student this will be about balancing an equation

For a chef, balancing the salt and other herbs, the water in the contents & to be added and so on

For an accountant a balance sheet

For a mother, for time between kids

For a working professional, personal & work priorities

In life its all about ability to balance, ability to set & reset priorities...an approach & attitude to simplify things and make life worth living.

Gita talks about balancing the 3 Gunas , prioritising between actions , always having a positive & satvik intention ...think about it!

Liberation

Watched a program related to bonded labour and how they suffer. Some want and work towards liberation while others are ignorant. The sufferings of both sets are different.

Now rethink with people in on the spiritual path in world and those in the worldly world. Suffering, approach and goals are different while being present in the same place physically

Vision

Look at the ground standing there

Now look down from say 4th floor. we will still see the drain, the dirt , the grass, a bit of the tree & the street, some cars etc

Now compare with the view from say 20th floor...tree tops , green grass, tiny cars on streets far away, clouds, roof tops...it all looks lovely

And when we see a city from a plan that has just taken off or just landing, it looks very pretty.

In fact while on a flight we see mountains & valleys and even arid desserts and they look beautiful in their own special way.

From where we see physically changes how we see it.

The ability to see with a higher perspective or to a further extent is VISION.

Body, Matrialism & Knowledge

Body, Matrialism & Knowledge : All 3 are needed to survive.

Durga, Laxmi & Saraswati represent these 3. And each Goddess has 3 days of the navratri dedicated to her.

An alignment and balance of all 3 during our time of Earth in human form can help achieve realisation.

Without a healthy body and basic needs of life met, one can't think of knowledge seeking etc....think about it.

Desire Vs Duty

Desire 
When you have an expected result it is a desire;  if you fail and you are hurt & upset with outcome ;it is a desire. The outcome not being what you expected makes you angry, it is a desire.
Duty
And it is duty, when you only focus on effort before, during & after. You are happy with effort and accept the outcome. You do efforts to your best ability knowing God has chosen you to do this. You know God will decide outcome and your control is only doing your best.

Some people camouflage their desire in their duty. I want my son to become a doctor. I am helping my son get into medical school.  Can you see that?!

Gita for some ...new acronymns

GPS
Integrated
To
Atma

Good
Intention
Towards
Awareness

God

In

Total

Awesomeness

Types of wealth ( Copy & paste from FB)

However, there are seven types of wealth:

Comfort in material wealth
The first type of wealth is what we commonly understand as material wealth. Just being born in Ford’s home, somebody acquired all that wealth without any effort. Why does this happen when somebody else had to toil all his life to make money?

Health equals wealth
Just having money is not sufficient. Some people may have a lot of money but they cannot eat well. They are suffering from many diseases — that wealth is nothing. Some people do not have money, but they have enough to eat and are healthy.

Courage to become wealthy
One must see life as a game and should play without worrying about the outcome. But if one is afraid of making mistakes then one lacks the wealth of courage. And without that there is no fun in life even if the person has a lot of money. Someone may not have any money, but if they possess courage, they reflect wealth.

The friendly wealth
The fifth type of wealth is friendliness. You may have the other types of wealth, but still feel no sense of belonging.That is what happens at most parties — rich people go to a party to show off their wealth, but feel out of place. Parties are like competition grounds or battlefields; everyone is carrying a shield. That is no wealth at all.

Need skill to be wealthy
Another wealth is having different skills and talents. Some people write well, some good at debating, some have a knack for music, some cook well, some are good in administration, and so on. Some, put their maximum efforts to achieve what they want, yet they fail. Effort is not enough to achieve one’s goal.

Be dignified, be wealthy
The world is full of lessons if only we observe it. Be as humble as the grass. Then nothing can touch you. No one can humiliate you. Always, walk like a king and be a perfect servant!

Memories are also wealth
Our memory only develops when we are three or four years and we start understanding things. The moment we become aware of our source of memory, and our infinite past, our whole life changes. It’s just like someone suddenly realizes how wealthy he or she is. Immediately your style of walking changes. This is the awareness of the source. - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Relevance

I once read that Churchil did not know his home phone number and had to look in a notebook for that. His reason was that it was irrelevant to remember it.

When Watson commented that Sherlock Holmes may be a genius at chemistry and knowledge of london lanes & by lanes, but knew nothing about astronomy, Sherlock responded that he chooses not to clutter his brain with irrelevant informations and keeps what he needs to do his job.

Someone commented that on reading a book about Steve Jobs its amazing that he had various fans and plenty of people who disliked him, was arrogant and yet a genius in his own way. It was summed up as he is part of our lives because his products touched us and too that extent relevant!

In this age of information overload, deciding the relevance is quite challenging.

Keeping focus will help in deciding what is relevant to a large extent.